March 6, 2013 - Knocked it out.

This took a seriously great turn.

It isn't that I had hated Shadowman up to this point. It was just that it never quite made it to the same kind of levels in the other four books. But this book really tried to turn a corner - and it really did. First - the art. As always - Zircher paints a beautiful picture of this. But now, new brushes are added to the scenes. Not certain if the level of involvement was intended. But passing the lines along to others really amazed me. The art in Deadside - stunning - especially as a counter point to the Zircher pencils. I'm not jumping for joy over the Grampa variant. It has the Johnson elements from the previosu books, but the colors are dull. The other three, though... Wow. Outdone themselves. Most of the 1:20 books have been stunning - but the Darque one needs a strong appreciation. The story blew me away... Along with a waitress. How so much can happen over so few panels... I also loved how each vignette was so quickly and beautifully told - and rounded out. The writing so quickly shifts from one place to another - and WOW - each one adds and richly sings. Great direction... Sincere compliments to the life in these panels.

Nice recovery

I think that I liked the comic. For the first time in a while, I felt really connected to the direction of the story here, and what these characters were doing. Nice to see the setup of the dreamscape, and the entry - and even the solving of the problem in the race. It may have been hokey, but it wasn't all terrible. The pursuit of the voodoo, and the connection with the snake on the cover - that was the first time in a while that I really felt some kind of a connection with the real direction of the story. Interestingly enough, it had a great balance between the story itself and the characterization. That's why this book is good.